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Boomerangs & Similar Throwing Sticks

KeyserXSoze

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http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9495111%255E1702,00.html
British claim on boomerang
By Paul Mulvey in London
May 7, 2004

A BRITISH historian has claimed to have uncovered the world's oldest evidence of the returning boomerang – in Yorkshire.

Terry Deary says his research indicates a rock carving on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire is of a four-armed boomerang which dates back as far as 4000BC.

The carving on what is known as the Swastika Stone was first discovered in the 1870s and has long been considered by experts to be a swastika motif which was common in ancient Greek and Roman art.

But Deary believes ancient Britons developed sophisticated boomerangs and the age of the rock, which archaeologists estimate dates back to 3000-4000BC, coincides with the emergence of art in the Yorkshire region.

Deary considers the 10,000-year-old preserved boomerangs found at Wyrie Swamp in South Australia were throwing sticks which did not return.

"I compared the image of the stone from photographs with today's four-bladed boomerangs. The similarity was obvious," Deary said.

"I checked back on the Wyrie Swamp boomerang and it has no aerodynamic qualities. It's a throwing stick.

"Boomerangs come back, throwing sticks don't. Wyrie doesn't have the aerodynamic qualities to come back. So that keeps my bid in the pot.

"My real interest is to challenge the establishment and to stop people saying `if an expert says this, it must be true'.

"I want to stimulate discussion, I'm quite prepared to say I'm wrong.

"But I want to provoke debate, to get people to look at it and get people in Australia to look at it and ask questions."

Deary's claims have been disputed by the West Yorkshire District Archaeologist Gavin Edwards who says the flowing four-pronged carving had always been considered a swastika motif which has also been found in Italy, Sweden and Portugal.

As the only carving of its type in England, Edwards said it was unlikely to be that of a popular weapon.

He also said it was impossible to date rock carvings.

"It is that sort of shape but it's the first I've ever heard of anyone linking it to a boomerang," Edwards said.

"The slightly more extreme ideas tend to come forward when people are dealing with carved rocks.

"There are certain individuals who have set themselves up as being experts. I would not support their interpretations in any shape or form."

He also believed the carving could have been tampered with during the 19th century.

"It seems it is possible it was modified to make it appear more important and unusual," Edward said.

"But it's all guess work. That's the trouble with carved rocks, you just cannot date them.

"There is a lot of speculation and zany ideas which may be right because at this point in time, none of us know for definite what it is really all about."
 
There is actually a much older bone boomerang from somewhere in Europe - it might take me a while to track down the source though.

Emps
 
Terry Deary writes a series of books called the Horrible Histories. They are aimed at children and while they are very funny they can be quite innaccurate reporting many fallacies as truths.

Terry seems to be a bit of a joker so i'm dubious about this although I don't dispute the claim of early boomerangs.
 
Curious Yorkshire things which ought to come back?

It's surely a teaser campaign for another fleeting visit by Evilsprout!

:p
 
Yes; my kids seem to have hundreds of his hugely entertaining books;

this is just another piece of his 'might be true' history style, which is okay for children's books, but presented as a scientific hypothesis is a bit thin.

Incidentally I remember getting a so-called 'boomerang' as a free gift with a comic book back in the Sixties; that was just a cross made of thick cardboard, but it seemed to work quite well. You couldn't kill a kangaroo with it, though.
 
. . . and this boomerang. I've been trying to think of a type of tree that would give the inspiration for such a weapon. In Western Europe I think we are firmly in the Megalithic Age at 4000 BCE with possibly copper making its appearance, manufactured as high status artifacts - but I'm not sure about woodworking tools . . . it would be a logical development with improved metal output. But with the Great Langdale flint outcrops just across the moors and the widespread use of archery (from the volume of arrowhead finds) I wonder what the advantage of a boomerang would be?

My knowledge of Australian aboriginal technology is limited and although I can find evidence of stone adzes from about 4,000 years ago, apart from bone points and fish tridents and worked stone spear tips I haven't seen any evidence of bowmanship which would be contemporary with the 10,000 year old Aussie throwing stick/boomerangs . . . so maybe by the time of the Ilkley 'weapon' the bow, by a 'diffusionist' principle, had been universally adopted everywhere, especially when you consider that by 4,000 BCE you were getting into competition for cultivatable land in western Europe and the rise of the fortified enclosure (i.e. a time of social distress). Given the two options, I know what my weapon of choice would be and what I'd be carving onto the local rockery. . . but then again . . . maybe it was good luck more than anything else that I really needed.

Dermot O' Logical
 
Here is the reference:

Valde-Nowak, P., Nadachowski, A. & Wolsan, M. (1987) Upper Paleolithic boomerang made of a Mammoth tusk in South Poland. Nature. 329. 436 - 8.

I suspect though that it was FT that tipped me off to this (in fact I'd bet a shiney pound coin on it) - I'll check later.

Emps
 
Yorkshire Boomerang? Surely the headline should've been 'A'll Si'thee'... ;)
 
Emperor said:
Here is the reference:

Valde-Nowak, P., Nadachowski, A. & Wolsan, M. (1987) Upper Paleolithic boomerang made of a Mammoth tusk in South Poland. Nature. 329. 436 - 8.

I suspect though that it was FT that tipped me off to this (in fact I'd bet a shiney pound coin on it) - I'll check later.

Emps

Some stuff on it here:

An Upper Paleolithic Boomerang

See Physical Anthropology: The Core, Chapter 12, pages 302-307;

Physical Anthropology, 6th edition, Chapter 19, pages 498-501.

In 1987 a boomerang made of mammoth tusk was discovered in Poland. The weapon spans 71 centimeters. A new accelerator radiocarbon date places the artifact at 20,300 B.P.

The artifact is a straight-flying weapon with a shape similar to wood specimens from Australia which are used in hunting. A copy of the weapon made of plastic of the same specific gravity as mammoth ivory weighs about 800 grams. One end is wider than the other. The wider end is incised with engraved lines for a better grip. When thrown by the experimenters the boomerang averaged 25 to 30 meters.

References: P. Valde-Nowak, A. Nadachowski, and M. Wolsan, "Upper Paleolithic Boomerang Made of a Mammoth Tusk in South Poland," Nature, 329 (1987), 436-438; and D. Evers and P. Valde Nowak, Arch„ologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 24 (1994), 137-144.

http://www.mhhe.com/socscience/anthropology/newsA.mhtml

The site is Oblasowa Rock Cave and dates to around 19,000 years ago (9k more than the oldest evidence for Australian boomerangs):

http://www.danbyrnes.com.au/lostworlds/timeline/lwstory16.htm

See also:

http://www.uf.uni-erlangen.de/obermaier/santander/summaries_2003.htm

There are also a couple of commentary papers (one from Bahn and another form Bower) and they are listed here:

http://www.angelfire.com/nc/conally/boomdata.html

Emps
 
The Boomerang is all yours!

Australians incensed by British boomerang claim

A British children's author is claiming the boomerang, an iconic symbol of Australian heritage, was in fact invented in Britain.

Terry Deary says he was out jogging in the Ilkley Moors near West Yorkshire, when he passed the famous Swastika Stone, an ancient carving on a rock which looks like a curvy swastika.

Experts say the Bronze-age image, dating from around 3,000 to 4,000 BC, is a sun or fire worship symbol.

But Mr Deary is going all out by suggesting that it is, in fact, a depiction of a quadrangular boomerang.

However, a member of Britain's Australian community described the claim as absolute rubbish.

"Next the British will be claiming they invented Fosters beer," he said.

--AFP
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1105469.htm

:rofl:
 
Boomerangs aren't uniquely Australian. A lot of cultures had aerodynamic throwing sticks for hunting, and not all boomerangs are intended to return.

The ancient Eygptions had them:
http://perso.club-internet.fr/mmonnot/Egypte-ang.htm

IMO it's probably parallel development.

If you were trying to bring down small animals or birds, by throwing sticks at them you'd soon work out which shape of stick was best for distance and accuracy.

The design was possibly worked out over years by carving them to give the best shapes. With the lack of other entertainment carving sticks was a good a way to spend your time as any.

Yorkshiremen probably made the returning type, because they wouldn't want to give owt away. ;)
 
My first thought on looking at the carving (seen here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3700483.stm) was that if it depicted a throwing object of some kind, it could be not a four-armed weapon, but a illustration of a one or two armed one in the process of being thrown out and returning. I.E. each part shows the object at a later time in its round journey...

I only mention this as the interview on Radio 4 utilised its four-arms as somehow evidence of it being an early model or prototype of the latter Aussie design.
 
The only boomerangs intended to return were actually children's toys. The 'real' hunting boomerangs don't come back 'cause you want them to hit something, I suppose.
 
You also wanted them to fly straight and hit what you were aiming for.

I think some types of returning boomerangs may have been used for hunting birds. I kept getting told different things by different people. I strongly suspect none of them knew what they were talking about.

Besides 4000-5000BC isn't good enough. The boomerang goes back a lot further than that.

And I doubt that guy was a real Australian. No Australians drink Fosters. Or at least none of us admit to it.
 
The last time I even recally SEEING fosters was when i was 17

(and i'm not admitting how long ago that was....*LOL*)
 
Maeve said:
The only boomerangs intended to return were actually children's toys. The 'real' hunting boomerangs don't come back 'cause you want them to hit something, I suppose.

Speaking from a general ignorance about boomerangs and hunting, i have always worked on the assumption that it 'attacked' in the huge arch so if one hit the target - all well and good, go collect your lunch - but if one didn't it'd return and you'd either get another chance or not have to go and collect it. Just a long held assumption. :confused:
 
Maeve said:
The last time I even recally SEEING fosters was when i was 17

(and i'm not admitting how long ago that was....*LOL*)
I saw it a lot in London last year. More so than I've ever seen it here.
 
If the carving is contemporary with the cup-and-ring markings on the moor, then it'd be possibley over 4,000 years old.
It was re-discovered in the 1850's.

According to Paul Bennett (2001) there're replicas of the Ilkley symbol in Italian and Swedish rock art. He also quotes Oakley (1999), who reckons it's a symbol of the Goddess Brigit, associated with the (swastika or 'fylfot') symbol in Ireland.


Interesting thing is, a symbol very similar to the Ilkley 'boomerang' was discovered on rocks outside Brisbane two years ago! The design is 1090mm by 970mm and looks very much like the 'Carmunian rose' motif found in northern Italy, at Valcomonica.



Anyway, here's a pic I took of the Ilkley Swastika stone. The original one is the smaller, fainter one to the top right of the picture, the larger one is a replica. (It's surrounded by railings, as you can see from the shadows!).
 
...and here's the Aussie one...

(Image credit: David Bird)

(Messing about with photo-editing software credit: Marion!)


I'm afraid you have to look very closely!
 
Tried throwing boomerangs when I was a kid.
Never got them to come back.
 
Tried throwing boomerangs when I was a kid.
Never got them to come back.

The traditional boomerang-shaped boomerangs are really hard to throw to get them to come back. You can make cross shaped ones that come back every time. My grandad taught me and my sisters to make little cardboard ones that you could throw indoors :)
 
Boomerangs aren't uniquely Australian. A lot of cultures had aerodynamic throwing sticks for hunting, and not all boomerangs are intended to return.

I only found out last week that boomerangs or hunting sticks weren't unique to Aboriginal Australians. As well as the Egyptian examples you mention, they were also used by Native Americans and there was one found in Poland carved from a mammoth tusk. ( just seen it referenced in post 2 ).

I knew about some of them not being intended to return because I've got one that flies straight and doesn't come back. I found this when I was little back in the 1970's in my great aunt's cellar and she said I could keep it. It had been there since they moved in and they had never been to or had any connection with Australia. ( this cellar was in England, I should add )

I did take it to a field and throw it, but found out quickly that it would never come back to me. Also found out some of them were used in combat, rather like a wooden sword. At around 2ft long and with some weight to it, I would imagine this hardwood blade could deal a nasty blow to the head and be able to break someone's arm with not much effort.
I wouldn't throw it now of course as I'd be to scared of losing or damaging it.

If anyone has any knowledge of these things, I'd love to hear about it.

The third picture shows detail of the carving and where it has worn smooth with handling.

Screen Shot 2021-04-06 at 15.41.31JPG.jpgScreen Shot 2021-04-06 at 15.42.46JPG.jpgScreen Shot 2021-04-06 at 15.42.15JPG.jpg
 
Boomerangs were used for a variety of purposes besides throwing. Recent research indicates they were even used for knapping stone tools (albeit maybe only for retouching).
There's Another Way To Use Boomerangs That Most People Don't Know About

A wooden boomerang might not possess the many arms of a Swiss army knife, but the uses of this ingenious tool by Australia's First Nations peoples are manifold.

This wooden, elbow-shaped instrument is popularly known around the world as an aerodynamic throwing stick. But depending on how the tool is made, it can also be used as a battle club, a digging stick, a hammer, a fire starter, a toy, a musical instrument – and even, it turns out, a sharpener of bone and stone tools.

In a new study, researchers in Australia have shown that hardwood boomerangs are tough enough to be used even for flint-, bone- and stone-knapping. ...

Since the European invasion in the late 1700s, however, the multipurpose nature of the boomerang has received little attention from archaeologists or ethnographic researchers.

Earlier this year, some of the same researchers published a systematic review of the scientific literature on boomerangs. Their analysis revealed that most previous studies have focused only on the aerodynamic properties of returning boomerangs, and little else.

Few other functions of the boomerang have been considered, despite reports of many different uses. Returning boomerangs may have become the most famous of the lot, but not all boomerangs are designed to fly back. Some are designed to fly straight and true. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.sciencealert.com/theres-another-way-to-use-boomerangs-that-most-people-dont-know-about
 
Earlier this year, some of the same researchers published a systematic review of the scientific literature on boomerangs. ...
Here are the bibliographic details and abstract from an April 2022 overview of boomerang uses and capabilities. The full research report is accessible at the link below.


Martellotta, E., Brumm, A. & Langley, M.
Tales of Multifunctionality: a Systematic Quantitative Literature Review of Boomerangs Used as Retouchers in Australian Aboriginal Cultures.
J Archaeol Method Theory (2022).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-022-09561-x

Abstract
Boomerangs are among the most recognisable elements of Australian Aboriginal technology. In the popular mindset, the prevailing image of these wooden artefacts is that of thrown implements that return to the thrower, principally used for hunting animals. However, boomerangs have a deep multipurpose role in Indigenous societies, with just a few examples of their known functions, including fighting, digging, and making music (i.e., “clap sticks”). Recently, yet another function for boomerangs has been proposed (Martellotta et al., 2021): the functional modification of lithic tools (i.e., retouching)—a form of use that is almost unknown among non-Aboriginal researchers. Here, we provide the first comprehensive review of evidence for the use of boomerangs as lithic retouching tools (percussors). A detailed lexical analysis demonstrates similarities between Palaeolithic bone retouchers used for the same purposes as the Australian hardwood boomerangs, thus confirming our traceological hypothesis and the power of using a multidisciplinary approach in investigating Australia’s deep past. This paper provides the foundation for discussions surrounding the multipurpose concept behind many Aboriginal tools by focusing on the most iconic item. We propose that, in future studies, the complex technological and functional features of boomerangs should take precedence over their famous “returning effect”.

SOURCE / FULL REPORT: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-022-09561-x
 
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